Washington Center For Human Rights
From DC to the World
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsThe House of Representatives passed House Bill No. 10576, known as the Human Rights Defenders Act, on its third and final reading on January 17, 2022. The proposed legislation was passed by 200 members of the House, with no abstentions or votes against it. The House had previously accepted the Bill in 2019, but the […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsThe Biden administration is contemplating an extended home detention and curfew pilot program for immigrants seeking asylum or other protection in U.S. immigration courts, according to Axios. National Immigration Project (NIPNLG), National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), Detention Watch Network, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, Black Alliance […]
CategoriesAdvocacyOn the eve of the six-month anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, a coalition of military veterans and Afghan friends urged Congress to act immediately to help refugees by approving the Afghan Adjustment Act. The gathering, organized by the Evacuate Our Allies alliance, gathered on Capitol Hill to urge the Biden administration to guarantee […]
CategoriesStatementsHuman Rights Watch said today that Indian authorities are using politically motivated claims of tax evasion and financial irregularities to suppress human rights activists, journalists, and other opponents of the government. Authorities monetary officers raided journalists’ residences, news offices, an actor’s premises, and the home and office of a human rights activist in September 2021 […]
CategoriesAdvocacyAmnesty International said today, on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the massacre, that the Egyptian authorities have failed to hold a single member of security forces accountable for the deaths of at least 900 people during the violent dispersal of sit-ins in Rabaa al-Adawiya and al-Nahda squares. Twelve individuals are facing execution, and […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsAfghans who are at risk of being persecuted by advancing Taliban troops require immediate evacuation and international protection. Foreign countries should make obtaining visas and assisting in the safe transit of civilians who may be targeted for abuse by the Taliban due to their former employment or status, as well as their close family members, […]
CategoriesStatementsAccording to Amnesty International, Iranian security forces used unlawful force, including mass arrests, to mercilessly suppress mostly peaceful rallies that erupted across the country in recent weeks. Activists, protestors, and onlookers, including children, have been subjected to enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill-treatment as a result of the surge of arrests. Security personnel unlawfully fired […]
CategoriesAdvocacyAuthorities in Russia have degraded the right to freedom of peaceful assembly by employing increasingly restrictive regulations, heavy-handed police methods, and criminal prosecutions to stifle peaceful opposition, Amnesty International said today in a new briefing. The group examines how the crackdown on peaceful protests, which began with the Federal Law on Assemblies in 2004, has […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsIn a case generally perceived as retaliation for Canada’s detention of a senior Huawei executive wanted by the US, a Chinese court sentenced Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in jail on Wednesday. Spavor was sentenced to prison for espionage and exporting state secrets overseas, according to the Dandong City Intermediate People’s Court. The […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsI n a case generally perceived as retaliation for Canada’s detention of a senior Huawei executive wanted by the US, a Chinese court sentenced Canadian businessman Michael Spavor to 11 years in jail on Wednesday. Spavor was sentenced to prison for espionage and exporting state secrets overseas, according to the Dandong City Intermediate People’s Court. […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsIn response to the spiralling violence in Southeast Nigeria, security forces have committed a slew of human rights violations and crimes under international law, waging a repressive campaign that has included sweeping mass arrests, excessive and unlawful force, torture, and other ill-treatment since January. The armed group known as the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the […]
CategoriesAdvocacyAmnesty International has uncovered that Iranian authorities secretly executed a young guy who was a minor at the time of his detention and had spent nearly a decade on death row. On the morning of August 2, Sajad Sanjari was hanged in Dizelabad jail in Kermanshah province, but his family was not informed until a […]
CategoriesAdvocacy StatementsOn Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, repeating a plea for human rights progress. Blinken and the Saudi minister discussed regional security, the attack last month on the tanker Mercer Street in the Arabian Sea, which Washington blames on Iran, and other regional matters, […]
CategoriesAdvocacyKrystsina Tsimanouskaya, who was kicked off the Belarusian team after criticizing her coaches in the Tokyo Olympics, is auctioning a medal from the 2019 European Games to support athletes who claim they have been targeted by authorities. On Aug. 1, Belarusian team officials took the 24-year-old to Tokyo’s Haneda airport against her will, a day […]
CategoriesStatements AdvocacyWith the parliamentary elections in Russia scheduled for September 19, every day brings new stories of arbitrary arrests, interrogations, and other attacks on critical voices. The Kremlin’s war on free expression claimed three fresh lives lately. After Roskomnadzor, the government’s communications regulatory organization, suspended their websites, independent news groups MBKh-Media, Open Media, and Open Rights […]
CategoriesStatementsHuman Rights Watch said today that Sri Lankan police are increasingly killing and abusing people under the pretext of Covid-19 pandemic efforts and an anti-drug campaign. Extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary incarceration have all been documented in the media recently. The government should re-establish independent police oversight and investigate and prosecute allegations of police misconduct. […]
CategoriesAdvocacyAfter authorities arrested another opposing lawmaker ahead of elections later this year, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega of pursuing additional undemocratic, dictatorial acts. Blinken claimed in a statement on Saturday that Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, were trying to keep power “at all costs” by disqualifying […]
CategoriesStatementsAccording to Human Rights Watch, Taliban militants advancing in Ghazni, Kandahar, and other Afghan provinces have summarily killed captured soldiers, police officers, and civilians with alleged connections to the Afghan government. Taliban forces have allegedly identified individuals who served with the Afghan National Security Forces in places they invade, according to locals from several districts. […]
CategoriesAdvocacyAs the presidential election in November approaches, President Daniel Ortega’s regime has increased harassment and indictments against government critics. The legislature passed a bill in October mandating businesses and individuals who accept financing from outside the country to register as foreign agents. The law prohibits such foreign agents from meddling in internal or external political […]
CategoriesAdvocacyIn the six months following the February 1, 2021 coup, Myanmar’s military junta has committed various atrocities against the civilians that amount to crimes against humanity, according to Human Rights Watch. Millions of people have come to the streets all around the country to peacefully protest the military coup, calling for a restoration to a […]
CategoriesStatementsSince the beginning of the Anglophone conflict in late 2016, government troops have routinely violated human rights during security operations against armed separatists trying to establish an independent Anglophone state known as Ambazonia. “New abuses in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions by both government security forces and armed separatists highlight the urgent need to protect communities at […]
CategoriesStatementsEleven Democratic senators have asked Joe Biden’s administration to denounce the alleged continued pattern of human rights breaches under the Duterte government at the highest levels. Senators voiced concerns about the human rights situation in the Philippines in a letter dated July 26 sent to US State Secretary Antony Blinken, and asked a number of […]
CategoriesAdvocacyFollowing Aliaksandr Lukashenka’s controversial re-election on August 9, Belarusian security forces unjustly imprisoned thousands of people and subjected hundreds to torture and other forms of ill-treatment in an attempt to thwart the demonstrations. The abuse, on the other hand, simply helped to inflame public resentment as thousands of people continued to march peacefully in support […]
CategoriesAdvocacyThe use of torture and forced confessions is widespread in Iraq’s criminal justice system, and authorities carry out countless judicial executions despite major due process abuses. Authorities employed a variety of defamation and incitement provisions in Iraqi legislation to silence dissidents, including journalists, activists, and protestors. Students who were kept out of school for months […]
CategoriesAdvocacyThe United Arab Emirates (UAE) government continues to invest in strategy with the goal of portraying the country as liberal, tolerant, and rights-respecting. Yet, with the prolonged imprisonment of major human rights defender Ahmed Mansour, academic Nasser bin Ghaith, and other activists and dissidents, the country’s extreme intolerance of criticism was on full display. Some […]
CategoriesAdvocacySaudi Arabia supposedly began the war in Yemen to prevent Iran from gaining a foothold on the Arabian Peninsula, which borders the strategically important Bab al Mandab straits. Nearly six years later, the war has given Iran just that, as well as causing the world’s largest humanitarian disaster. When the Houthi rebels agreed to enable […]
CategoriesStatementsAs the Taliban advances, 200 Afghan interpreters and their families have arrived in the United States, the first of 2,500 Afghans being evacuated. The translators are being relocated as part of a visa program for people who worked with the US during the Taliban’s 20-year conflict, which concluded recently. They arrived early Friday morning and […]
CategoriesAdvocacyThis year was marked by violent persecution of human rights campaigners and suspected dissidents, as well as systematic ethnic minorities suppression. Despite the criticism from the UN, restrictions on freedom of expression remained in place unchanged. Foreign journalists were subjected to detention and expulsion, as well as visa renewal delays and denials. Outside of China, […]
CategoriesAdvocacyThe Covid-19 pandemic offered an excuse for Russian authorities to limit human rights in a variety of ways, as well as to impose additional restrictions, particularly in the area of privacy rights and Freedom of political participation. In 2020, constitutional changes were a major development. Several oppressive laws have been strengthened through constitutional amendments. Authorities […]
CategoriesAdvocacyIn 2015, the UAE government hacked Mr. Ahmed Mansour’s phone, using a spyware developed by an Israeli-based firm called NSO Group making his smartphone a tool to monitor him. His phone was hacked to spy on him and his colleagues. Ahmed Mansour, 51 years-old, an Emirati engineer, poet, blogger and father of four. He is […]
CategoriesTopicsIn a new report, “Ruling by fear and repression”, the organization details how the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly have come under increasing attack particularly over the past five years, with opposition leaders and activists jailed, independent media outlets shut down, and at least five people killed by police since 2016. Zambia’s ruling […]
CategoriesCountry ProfileCanada has led more than 40 countries in expressing serious concerns over Beijing’s repressive actions in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet, prompting a furious response from Beijing over Canada’s colonial history. The exchange at the UN human rights council on Tuesday marks the latest downturn in relations between Canada and China, which have deteriorated steadily […]
CategoriesCountry Profile TopicsThe United States on Wednesday restricted exports to five Chinese companies that it said were implicated in Chinese human rights violations, including large producers of polysilicon for the solar panel industry. The companies were listed over human rights violations and abuses of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, according to a US government filing on Wednesday. The […]
CategoriesBriefs Country Profile TopicsThe UN envoy to the Central African Republic (C.A.R.), as well as diplomats from the United States and France, has accused the national security forces and their Russian paramilitary allies of wide-ranging human rights abuses. Russia helps President Faustin Archange Touadera combat rebel groups in the resource-rich country’s ongoing civil war, including fielding Russian mercenaries […]
The US says it has carried out air strikes against Iran-backed militias near the Iraq-Syria border in response to drone attacks on its forces in Iraq. A Pentagon spokesman said the strikes targeted “operational and weapons storage facilities” at three locations. President Biden had been clear he would act to protect US personnel, he added. […]
Several human rights organizations are worried that Vice President Harris’s upcoming trip to Mexico and Guatemala risks focusing too much on immigration and not other issues such as rule of law and government corruption. The Washington Office on Latin America, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Latin America Working Group, Due Process of Law Foundation and […]
CategoriesTopicsThe Escazú Agreement came into force in April 2021 with 12 ratifications (out of a possible 33) from Latin American and Caribbean countries. Guided by a secretariat at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, it is the first environmental treaty in the region, and affirms Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, resting […]
Country Report
CategoriesAdvocacyMay 14, 2021 Dear Mr. Secretary-General, We strongly support the United Nations and the resolutions on human rights protection, as nongovernmental organizations continue working to alleviate humanitarian sufferings in different regions around the world. Throughout the year, there were reports of extrajudicial executions, excessive use of force, and unlawful killings by security forces in […]
CategoriesStatementsWashington Center For Human Rights condemn the execution of Javed Dehghan, an Iranian belonging to the Baloch minority, a few days ago. WCHR fear that the recent alarming increase in executions of prisoners of the Baloch minority in Iran will continue. We are shocked that the execution of Mr. Dehghan on 30 January was carried […]
CategoriesStatementsWashington Center For Human Rights expresses grave concern about the situation in Myanmar following the removal of civilian authorities from government and the arbitrary detention of dozens of political leaders, human rights defenders, journalists, activists and others by the military. On January 31, the Myanmar military seized power in the country, consolidated its control over the […]
CategoriesStatementsGlobal access to COVID-19 vaccines for everyone who needs them is a step all governments should cooperate on. The pandemic has demonstrated that no one in the world will be safe until everyone is safe. In-country prioritization of vaccines should include all eligible priority groups, regardless of who they are. Migrants should be given equal […]
CategoriesStatementsEmirati security forces arrested Ahmed Mansour in a late-night home raid on March 20, 2017. In May 2018, the State Security Department of the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal sentenced Mansoor to ten years in prison on charges entirely related to his human rights activities. On December 31, 2018, the Federal Supreme Court upheld the unjust […]
CategoriesStatementsThe Egyptian Parliament has approved President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s extension of a nationwide state of emergency for the fourth year in a row. The authorities have used the coronavirus outbreak as an excuse to silence critics, including health workers, journalists, and bloggers, and to keep hundreds, if not thousands, of detainees in pretrial detention without […]
CategoriesStatementsThe corruption of the Lebanese authorities and their failure to deal with the stifling political and economic crises in the country have caused the biggest human rights deterioration that Lebanon has witnessed in decades. The unprecedented economic crisis, which was exacerbated by the outbreak of the “Corona” virus, led to a doubling of the poverty […]
CategoriesStatementsMore than 470 people, including suspected separatists and Indian army troops, were killed in gunfights and clashes in Jammu and Kashmir in 2020, according to a report released on Wednesday. Prepared by the Legal Forum for Oppressed Voices of Kashmir, the report on the situation of human rights in the disputed region said that a […]
CategoriesStatementsThe European Parliament adopted a joint resolution called “forced labour and the situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region”. The resolution expressed its strong condemnation of the Chinese government’s policy of forcing the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other Muslim minorities to work in closed factories and camps in Xinjiang The resolution called […]
CategoriesStatementsIranian women’s rights activists have been campaigning for a law that protects women for 16 years. The administration of President Hassan Rouhani has been working on the draft law since the 2013 elections. The Cabinet has been reviewing the “Protection, Dignity, and Security of Women Against Violence” bill since September 17, 2019, after the judiciary […]
